Spinning of artificial silk



May 4 1926.

' B. LOEWE sPINNIyc OF ARTIFICIAL SILK Filed Match '14. '1924 .lloew 'consists of a natural silk thread Patented May 4, 1926.

BERNARD LOEWE, O1 ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.

SPINNING OF ABTIFICIAL SILK.

Application filed March 14, 1924. Serial 110.6%,889.

To all whom it may concem:

I Be it known that I, BERNARD Lonwii, a citizen of Turke residing at Zurich, in the Canton of Zuricii, Republic of Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to the Spinning of Artificial Silk, of which the following is a specification.

The subject of this invention is a method of spinning artificial silk, which produces as the final product a silk, the core of which coming di-v rect from cocoons in the reeling bath. This natural silk thread may itself be formed from one or more single threads, which are impregnated withany suitable cellulose, collodion from nitro-cellulose, cellulose acetate, viscose or the like. At the same time one or more continuous threads are drawn from this cellulose substance with or without pressure which artificial threads unite with the natural silk thread and coagulate on the surface thereof so that an artificial silk thread is formed.

By;this means artificial silk threads are obtained, which are just as fine as the greges threads of natural silks, have a specific gravity of approximately that of natural silk, an elasticity of 18 to 24%and atoughness o 2 to 4 gr. per denier both in the dry and in the moist state. '1

These artificial silk threads cannot be separated by mechanical means. They are similar to actual single threads, show a smooth fracture, but in spite of this consist of several threads, which may be separated by chemical means in suitable baths. lhey also become more flexible and swell, so that they increase in diameter. 4

great uniformity in any desired thickness from denier up to the coarsest titres, both as greges and twisted.

in spinning this artificial silk thread a natural silk thread in the course of formation and consisting of one or more single threads coming from silk cocoons is used, which single threads, in passing through a spinning nozzle filled say with collodion, become impregnated therewith and draw it through the device in the form of continuous threads.

These adjacent continuous threads of the cellulose containing material coagulate, when exposed to the air, and form the new artificial silk thread, which is thereupon reeled on a support f zle the natural silk thread 2,

These threads may be made with very passage through the air from in a known manner, during which operation it may be twisted. The reeling oif of the cocoon or cocoons, the spinningofthe artificial silk and the twisting can be carried out in a single operation by means of a single apparatus. p

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically in elevation a constructional example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of spinning artificial silk forming the subject of the present invention in combination with a reeling machine, in which the thread may or may not be twisted.

Fig. 2 shows the spinning nozzle to an enlarged scale, in whichthe thread is twisted'asit passes through.

Fig. 3 is a plan view! of a nozzle having a number of outlet openings.

The cocoons are spun in a known manner in a basinl into a thread 2 consisting of the single threads 3 and 4,-for instance from ,two cocoons, which single threads are prepared automatically by means of a spinning nozzle'5 and rotating discs. The spinningi nozzle 5 with the spinning eyes is mounte 6 above the basin.

After leaving the eye of the spinning nozwhich is to form the core. of the" new artificial silk thread, passes through a vessel 7 containing a 'solutionhaving a drying action. it is not absolutely necessary to draw the thread of natural silk through a drying liquid and the thread may be passed straight to which contains for instance collodion. Instead of passing the thread through a vessel containing a solution having a drying action, it may be passed with thesame ob ect through a chamber through which hot air flows, or both methods may be used-1n combination.

the spinning nozzle 8, which is filled from the reservoir 9 with collodion or some other material containing cellulose, and i n passing through the nozzle draws continuously a collodion thread out of the nozzle either upwards or downwards according to the arrangement decided on, which collodion thread at the same time impregnates the entire surface of the thread 2. During this the spinning nozzle '8 and the guiding pulley 10 reeling. device which distance may be of any suitable length, the drawn. collodlon the nozzle,

to the Y thread will coagulate and unite with the impregnated thread .2 on the surface of the latter, so that an artificial silk thread is produced. If a nozzle having several outlet openings is used, as that shown in Fig. 3, a collodion threadmay be drawn out of each of the peripheral openings by the action of the pressure exerted by the plastic material contained in the reservoir 9', the central natural silk thread being soaked and caused to coagulate with the collodion threads drawn with it, while the collodion threads drawn out of the peripheral openings under pressure are caused to wrap round the central thread and are fixed together with it or are united with it by an adhesive.

By altering the diameter of the spinning nozzle 8 and the speed at which the thread 2 passes through it, any desired thickness of artificial silk thread 11 may be obtained.

The artificial silkthread passes over the guiding pulleys 10 and 12 and through the stop motlon device 13 and is reeled on to a reeling machine either with or without being twisted. If the thread is to be twisted it is drawn through the guiding member 14, which is provided at the upper end of the shaft 15, which latter rotates within the tube 16 along which the tubular part 17, whichcarries the bobbin 18, is capable of being slid. I

19 and 20 are the worm gears driven at different speeds for operating the shaft 15 and the tubular part 17 which parts may thus be given any required relative speed of rotation. A disc 21 of the tubular part 17 carrying the bobbin lies between two rollers on a carriage 22, which is capable of sliding on a vertical shaft 23 and is provided with a pin 24, which slides in a helical groove 25 on the surface of a drum .26 mounted on a shaft 27. i

The Verticalreciprocating motion along the tube 16 of the tubular part 17 carrying the bobbin thus produced, produces the crossing of the thread on the bobbin 18. The

drum 26 is driven in any suitable manner from a shaft 28, the speed of rotation of which is always proportlonal to the number of convolutions of the thread on the bobbin.

The reeling machine is also provided with an automatically acting stop motion device.

For reeling the thread without any twist, the thread is passed strai ht from the stop motion device 13 to the fixed guide 29 on the frame of the machine.

In the machine described above a number of-Tspinning nozzles and collodion nozzles may of course be combined.

11f 1t 1s desired to spin the thread in the downward instead of the-upward direction,

on 'efr niore'collodion nozzles will be arran e'dt n thedescen'ding ath of the thread 1:01. t reads below. the u1 mg pulley 12.

In order, to cause t e cellulose threads to wrap helically round the natural silk thread, which has been impregnated .with the cellulose in the nozzle, a certain whirling motion may be imparted to the said threads by actuating the rotating disc of the nozzle 5. The

emerges from the nozzle 8, the spinningnozzle can be constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 2. In this nozzle a relative rotary motion is produced between the tube 30 filled with the artificial silk substance and fed from the reservoir 9 and the discs 31, 32 above and below the said tube for instance by driving these discs'by means of cordpulleys 33. The discs are provided with thread guides 34, at least one of which is eccentrically located to cause the thread to be twisted whenthe discs are rotated and to impart to the thread a helical course as indicated in Fig. 2. 7

l/Vhat I claim is 1. A method of spinning artificial silk, characterized by the fact, that a natural silk thread, which is obtained by reeling ofi cocoons in a bath and consists of one or more such cocoon threads, is impregnated in the course of its formation with a cellulose substance by drawingit through the said substance, from which it continuously draws a:

thread, which coagulates on the surface of the natural silk thread, which is itself impregnated with the said substance so as to form an artificial silk thread.

2. In an .apparatus for carrying out the process as claimed in claim 1, a device for drawing a thread of natural silk from cocoons, a spinning nozzle filled with a cellulose substance, means for passing the natural silk thread through said spinning nozzle in order to draw therefrom a combined eel-- lulose and natural silk thread.

3. In an apparatus for spinning artificial silk, a reeling bath' for cocoons, means for drawing .a thread of natural silk from this bath, a spinning nozzle filled with a cellulose substance, means for passing the thread through said nozzle, and a drying device inserted'in the path of the thread between the bath and said spinning nozzle.

4. In an apparatus forspinning artificial silk, a basin for the cocoons, a devlce for obtaining the thread from cocoons, a spinning device adapted to unite several cocoon threads into a single thread, a spinning nozin this nozzle adapted to unite several cocoon threads into a single thread, a spinning nozzle filled with a cellulose substance, a perforated disc in this nozzle and means for whirling motion to the threads, a spinning device comprising a tube, a reservoir containing cellulose substance and connected with said tube, a disc above and below this tube, means for producing a relative rotation between this tube and said discs, eccentrically located thread guides on said discs adapted to cause the thread tobe twisted when they are rotated, a drying device located between the first mentioned spinning nozzle and said spinning device and means for passing the natural silk thread through said devices.

7. A method of spinning artificial silk as claimed in claim 1-, characterized by the fact,

that a whirling motion is imparted to the natural silk thread by the rotating disc of a s inning nozzle which causes several sing e cocoon threads to unite.

8. A method of spinning artificial silk, as claimed in claim 1, characterized by the fact, that the natural silk thread, when passing through the artificial silk substance, is caused to take a helical course, for the purpose of causing the cellulose thread to adhere to the cocoon thread in a helical line.

' 9. A method of spinning artificial silk as claimed in claim 1, characterized bythe fact that the natural silk thread draws a number of threads from the artificial thread substance, which threads are united with the natural silk thread.

10. A method of spinning artificial silk as claimed in claim 1, characterized by the fact, that the natural silk thread, before it is impregnated witha cellulose substance is subject to a drying.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed. my

signature.

. BERNARD LOEWE. 

